Heel building machine



p 1943- J. A. MCMAHON ET AL HEEL BUILDING MACHINE Filed May 4, 1942 a R w t M/ m w Q w s M./ .r a M 8 NE h S HM 0 8. 2% 5 p 7, 1943. J. A. MCMAHON ET AL 2,329,071

HEEL BUILDING MACHINE Filed May 4, 1942 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 p 1 J. A. MCMAHON ET AL 2,329,071

HEEL BUILDING MACHINE Filed May 4, 1942 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 J N A. M m/mg fEA/EZST 0. 5/0014;

sept" 9 194$ J. A. MCMAHON ET AL 2,329,071

HEEL BUILDING MACHINE p 7, 19 J. A. MCMAHON. ET AL 2,329,071

HEEL BUILDING MACHINE Filed May 4, 1942 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 mi 1 i S pt 7, 19 J. A. MCMAHON ET AL HEEL BUILDING MACHINE Filed May 4, 1942 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 HH h 5 H a H U m M m Z8 w 3 a N. 2 F 4 m 9 w {a} H (MW @\\H W //%A 1/ 5w x7 W w a z n 5 v a w m a w; 0

O 6 1L IIII 5M) e 7 9 W W w 5W 2 z WK. M 1 m W M 6 V 5 4 0 6 a 7 H w Z a fl a J Q d a 6 M I Patented Sept. 7, 1943 2,329,071 HEEL BUILDING MACHINE John A. McMahon and Ernest D. Sydow, St. Louis, Mo.

Application May 4; "1942, Serial No. 441,576

, 11 Claims.

The general objectof this invention "is to provide novel heel building mechanism for use in a heel building machine of the'character described in our prior application, Serial No. 421,108, filed December 1, 1941, which mechanism is designed to enable said machine to be used in building heel-blanks, either decked, or with straight sides, from pieced lifts;' and, if the heel-blankis randcd, with pieced rands. "I

The machine of our said prior application was shown as organized for building relatively high, decked heels for ladies shoes. I p the heel-blanks for such heels, only whole lifts are employed, and hence we have shown straight backbars' to be engaged by the heel-blanks as" they are moved into position for clamping. Such back-bars are more particularly shown and their function described in our divisional application; Serial No. 430,000, filedFebruary 9, 1942-. In ascuratel positioning the lifts to form a perfectly straight breast on the heel-blank, by causing the breast-plate of the heel-former to force the In building up rounded side, or back, of the heel-blank against the back-bars, there is no danger of anyresulting displacement of thelifts, as the pressure is' appliedin a straight line from the breast to the back of the assembled lifts, and after the heelblank is clamped, its rear side remains in contact with said back-bars to" prevent displacement of the lifts for apart of the distance of travel of the heel-blank around the machine, or until the paste between the lifts has had time to partially set and thus prevent any such displacement after the heel blank has moved beyond the back-bars.

Pieced lifts are, as a rule, only employed in building heel-blanks for mens shoes, the heels, of which are quite large in area as comparedwith those for ladies shoes, but of much lessheight, and for the most part are perfectly flat, with straight-sides,although decked heels are sometimes employed. The back-bars of our prior applications referred to are not suitable for use in building heel-blanks from pieced lifts as, when forcedagainst the back-bars'by the heel-former and clamped, the heel blank will invariably show lateral displacement lifts.

It is 'a principal object of the present invention; therefore, to provide a backstop for the heel? of some of the pieces of the blanks which will act to shape them or, otherwise,

to hold the pieces of the lifts incorrect position, as the heel-blanks are forces against it by the heel-former.

Another objectof the inventionis to provide a yieldable back-stop which will turn in the direction of movement of the clamped heel-blank asi the latter is carried forward by the endless clampcarrier, and: which will be automatically returned to its normal position after theclam-pedheel-.

blank has passed out of engagement with it.

Another object of the invention is to provide a back-stop of the character described composed of a series of superimposed back-stop plates adapted to be mounted in a holder, which plates may be built up to any desired height corresponding to the height of the heel-blanks being built,

and Which may be arranged in stepped forma tion, as in the case of theback-bars of our prior applications, where decked heel-blanks are being built.

. The back-stop is provided a shaping recess, preferably V-shaped, so that when the rounded side of the heel-blank is forced into the crotch, the abutting edges of the pieces of the lifts will be forced together by engagement with the converging sides thereof. If superimposed back-stop plates are employed, each plate will be Vv-shaped at one end so that they may eitherbe assembled to form straight, converging side walls or, if decked heel-blanks are being built, toprovide a stepped formation. In either form the back-stop is adjustable toward and from the heelformer.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a plan View of a machine embodying I 7 our invention, the bin for containingthe lifts to be pasted, assembled and clamped being omitted for clearness of illustration;

Fig. 2 is a viewin front elevation of the central portion of 'the machine, with a portion of the bin shown mounted thereon;

- Fig. 3 is a similar view in rear elevation;

Fig. 4 is a view in front elevation, on 'an en; larged scale, of theheel-building and delivering mechanism, the clamping mechanism appearing at the rear being broken off;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on the line 6-6v of Fig. 4 and Fig. 5;

Fig; 7 is a horizontal section on the line '!'l=.

of Fig. 4 and Fig. 5; 1 Fig. 8 is a plan View, on an enlarged scale and partly in section, of the front central portion of the machine, showing a randed pieced heel-blank i'n positionito be advanced into engagement with our novel back-stop; V Fig.0 is a similar view showing the heel-blank in engagement with the back-stop and in position to be clamped;

Fig. is also a similar view, showing the backstop turned to one side by the clamped heelblank as it is moved forward by the endless clamp carrier;

Fig. 11 is a broken plan View, on an enlarged scale and partly in section, showing the spring control for the pivoted back-stop holder;

Fig. 12 is a. longitudinal on the line l2-I2 of Fig. 9 showing the clamping plate lowered into clamping position on the randed heel-blank;

Fig. 13 is a vertical sectional view on the line l3-l3 of Fig.3;

Fig. 14 is a vertical sectional view on the line |4-|4 of Fig.3;

Fig. 15 is a vertical sectional view on the line l5l5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 16 is a vertical sectional view on the line |6-l6 of Fig. 3; V

Fig. 17 is a vertical sectional View on the line l'l-l'l of Fig. 1;

Fig. 18 is an assembled view, showing in perspective the three parts composing an unitary back-stop assembly;

Fig. 19 is a plan view of the base lift of a heelblank;

Fig. 20 is a similar view showing the sections of a two-piece lift;

Fig. 21 is a similar view of the sections of a two-piece rand;

Fig. 22 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 9, but showing a decked heel-blank in engagement with a modified construction of back-stop;

Fig. 23 is a sectional view taken on the line 23-23 of Fig. 22;

Fig. 24 is a cross-sectional View on line 24-24 of Fig. 23; and 4 Fig. 25 is a perspective view of one of the plates used in our modified back-stop of multi-' ple construction.

Referring now to the drawings, the numerals 3, 4, Figs. 1, 2 and 3 indicate, respectively, side frame members of the machine, in suitable bear ings in which is mounted 'a main drive shaft 5, on one end of which is secured a pulley 6 which is driven by a belt 1 from a source of power (not shown). Beside pulley 6 is mounted on the shaft a loose pulley 8, a belt shifter 9 being employed to shift the belt from one pulley to the other,

according to whether the machine is to be driven, or its motion stopped. Mounted on the drive shaft 5 near its opposite end is a clutch l0, com

prising a loose clutch member H and a fast clutch member 12. The numeral [3 indicates a foot treadle to be actuated at will by an operator, which is secured at its inner end on a rock shaft l4 pivotally supported in hangers 15 depending from a cross-bar 16 secured at its ends to the frame members 3, 4, of the machine. Also secured on rock'shaft M adjacent the head of treadle I3 is a rocker-arm l'l extending downward from the rock-shaft, and pivotally connected at its lower end to one end of a connecting bar IS, the other end of which is secured to a depending rocker-arm 19. the upper end of which is secured to a rock-shaft 20 supported in bearings in the frame members 3, I] The lower end of rocker-arm i9 is pivotally connected to one end of a connecting bar 22, the other end of. which is pivotally connected to the lower end of a rocker-arm 23, which depends from and is integral with a circular cam member 24 (Figs. 3 and 13), the outer face of which is provided with cam surfaces working against complementa cam surfaces on a fixed cam member 26 mounted on the frame of the machine. The cam member 24 is loosely mounted on the drive shaft 5 and abuts against the hub 21 of a sprocket gear 28, said hub and gear being loose on shaft 5. When the treadle I3 is depressed, the connecting bar IB is moved to the rear, moving the rockerarm 19, connecting bar 22 and rocker-arm 23 in the same direction. This movement causes the cam member 24 to be rotated and its'cam surfaces to ride over the complemental cam surfaces on the fired cam member 26, thereby moving its hub 21 into engagement with the side of the sprocket gear 28 and moving the latter inward, or toward the right in Fig. 3, causing the loose clutch member II to be moved into frictional engagement with the fast clutch member 12, which is constantly rotated by the drive shaft 5.- The loose clutch member H and the sprocket gear 28 have a common hub 29, so that when the loose clutch member is rotated by engagement with the fast clutch member 12 the sprocket gear 28 will be caused to berotated. Secured on a cross-shaft 30 (Fig. 13), supported in bearings on the frame members 3, 4', is a sprocket gear 3|, considerably larger in diameter than the sprocket gear 28, and which is operatively connected to the'latter by means of-a sprocket chain 32. Secured on the inner side of ,the sprocket 3| is a small sprocket wheel 33 (Fig. 14-). Located above the cross-shaft 3i) and rotatably mounted in hearings in the frame members 3, 4, is a cam shaft 34 on which isloosely mounted a relatively large sprocket wheel 35 which is operatively connected to the sprocket wheel 33 by a sprocket chain 35.

Mounted on this cam shaft 34 are a number of' cams, which .are brought into operation in a given order, so that when the camshaft is rotated the various operations of the machine will be caused to occur in a given sequence. As the operation of all of these cams is fully described in our prior parent application, only those cams, to be later referred to, which operate the mechanisms involved in the invention to which the present application is directed to in this specification. 7

The numeral 31 (Fig, 13) indicates a coil spring, one end of which is secured to the rockshaft 14 and the other to the rocker-armlS. In the operation of the machine, the treadle I3 is held in a depressed position only momentarily and when released, the spring 31, which had been placed under tension when the treadle was will be referred depressed, operates to return the treadle and the cam faces on cam member 24 to normal position, therebypermitting the loose clutch member II to separate from thefast clutch member l2. arrested by an adjustable stop screw 39 which is adapted to be engaged by thelower end of rocker arm IS. The fixed cam member 26 may be secured in adjusted positions by means of a simple clamp 38 (Fig. 3). I

Referring more particularly to Figs. 4, Sand 8, the heel lifts 40 are first pasted and then assembled on a base plate 4| with their breast portions inserted between two sets of heel-forming plates 42, 42, mounted. one upon the other in holders 43 and clamped therein by means of set screws 44. In building up a heel-blank according to the present invention, whether of the decked or straight-sided type, the lifts are assembled in order from the bottom, or tread portion, 'to the upper portion, or base, of the heel.

The return movement of the treadle I3 is.

2,329,071 Y To enable either type of-heel-blank tobe built a up ,on our machine,- each of the heel-forming plates-42 is provided at;its inner end with a'. por tion 42? which serves as a breast plate, and with inward-extending projections 45 which, in the assembled condition, when decked heels are being built, diverge from each other in an upward directiomas fully illustrated and described in our priorv applications. If straight-sided heelblanks are being built,. th einneredgesof these projections will lie fiush with .each other. In either-ease the. projections form a recess 42 corresponding to the shape of the-heel at the sides of the breast, The holders 43 a re mounted on the inner end ofra movable. support 46 which is mounted to slide in guides46 over the top of the base plate;.4l. I The support, carrying the holders 43 with the. heel-forming plates .42

clamped therein willhereinafter be referred to asa heel-former, After a heel-blank has been assembled on the base plate 4!, the first operation that occurs upon depressingtreadle I3 is the movement of theheel-former inward to carry the assembled heel-blank into position on a travelling heel-clamp carrier 41, an endless series of such carriers being shown in Fig. l, and

the mechanism for effecting this operation will now be described. H

Secured on cam shaft 34 (Fig. 16) is a cam 48 having a'cam groove 49 formed in the face thereof.

Pivot ed atits lower end on the shaft 30 is an the frame of the machine. Securedon the cam shaft 34 is acam 61 the peripheral; face of which normally'engages'a wear plate 68 secured ongthe underside of the lever arm 60. As the cam 61 rotates, its high point passing under and in engagement with wear plate 68 raises the lower end of lever arm 60 which in turn, through .links 63, raisesthe plunger 64, whichoperates to actuate the clamping mechanism-bythe following means i; A. rack-bar 69 (Eig.;-5) slidably mounted in guides engages a spur gear! I mounted in bear-v ings 12. A companion rack-bar l3 slidably mounted in guides 14 engages the spurgear "H on the opposite side-to that enga ed by rack-bar 69; An interiorly.screw-threaded boss 15 on rack-bar 59 receivesthe lower screw-threaded portion of a rod 16, which is located above and in line with the plunger-54, sothat when the latter is raised, as

. described, its upper end will engage the lower end of rod 16 and raise it,.there by raising rack-bar 59 and lowering rack-bar l3. The latter, as will 7 presently appear, is providedv with means for actuating lever 50 the upper end of which is pivotally connected at 5| to the inner end of a connecting rod 52, the other end of which is piv0t allyfconnected at 53,. (Fig. 5) to the lower end of a crank-arm 54, the upper' endof which is secured cn arock-shaft :55 mounted in bearings 55 provided on vertical frame members 55 at the front of the machine. A second crank-arm 54 is similarly secured on rock-shaft 55 and its upper end is pivotally connected to one end ofa link 56, the

7 other end of which-link is pivotally connected to alug 51 carried by and projectin downward from the bottom of thesupport 46. As the cam shaft 34 is rotated through the medium of sprocket 35 and sprocket chain 36 from the sprocket 33;'as

previously described, the cam 48 will be turned.

Mounted on the actuating-lever 50 is a roller 58 which engages in the cam groove lfi, and as the high part of this cam groove passes overtheroller 58 the actuating lever 50 will be moved toward the front ofthe machine; thereby partially rotating the rock-shaft and through'themedium of crank-arm 56 and link 56 moving'a heel-former inward and the heel-blank from thejbase plate 41' onto the bottom of the clamp carrier 41. In the continued revolution of cam 48, the. low part of cam groove 49 will engager-oller 58 and return I the heel-former to the normal position shown in Fig. 5; Just prior to the return movement of the heel-former the machine operates to clamp; the heel-blank deposited on the clamp carrier 41, and the means for effecting: this clamping operation will'now be described, referring particularly to Figs. 5 and 15.

- Pivotally mounted on a cross' shaft 59' located I at the rear'part of the machine is a lever arm 60 which extends well toward the front of the machine andat itsinner end ,is bifurcated (Fig. 1), V

the two-arms 6| of thisbifurcated end being'connected, respectively, at 362 to'the' upper ends of two links 63 located on opposite sides of a plunger 64, and being connected at their lower ends to a cross-pin65 passing throughsaid plunger.

The

. mounted a pinion-99 ona cross-pin I00.

with a perfectly'flat base, as

.carrier are two parallel bars 8! which are connected at their upper ends bya cross-bar 82 and at theirlower ends by a crosseba'r 83, thus providing a slidable clamping frame. Secured at their upper ends in," and projecting well below the underside of each carrier 41, are two parallel rods Z84, which are connected at their lower ends by acrossbar 85. Formed integral with the crossbar 83 at each end thereof, respectively, are two sleeves 85which are slidably mounted on the rods 84; Loosely mounted in the cross-bar 82 of each carrier is a pinB'l, the head 83 of which is adapted to be engaged bythe-upper side of cross-bar 82 when the clamping frame is raised. Pivotally mounted on, the lower end of pin 81 is a clamp plate fill -between which and the underside of cross-bar82 is-interposed a coil spring 9|. The clamp plate is of the'type" described and claimed 7 in the patent to- Dennis Parks, No. 2,376,560, dated October 17, 1939,.and when forced downward into engagement with thebase ofthe heel-blank, indicated in the views where shown by the letter I-I, its construction is such as to enable it to engage the hollowed-out portion of the base lift formed, as usual by gouging, or the similar depression produced by applying a rand to the base lift, such engagement occurring at the breast of the heel-blank. and operating to afford a firm engagement of the clamp plate with the,

entire surface of the base lift. At the same time, the clamp plate will make aflush engagement in clamping heelblanks for mens shoes; I

Secured at its upper end: onthe under side ofeach clamp carrier 41 is a rack-bar 91, which at its lower, end is secured in the cross-bar 85. Pro-g jecting downward from the cross-bar83 are two short parallel arms 98.b etween whichis rotatably' Pivotally mounted between arms 98 at their lower ends is a ratchet I01 which normally engages the teeth of.

plunger-64 is .slida'bly, mounted in bearings 66 on 7-6 pinion '99 and is "yieldin ly h i su s seinent by a spring I02, shown in Fig. 12 and also in Fig. '5, engaging a tail piece I04 on said ratchet; Assuming the operator has built upa heel-blank on base plate 4|, he depresses foot treadle I3, and through the operations of the mechanisms previously described places cam shaft 34 in operation. Cam 48 on said shaft now operates to cause the heel-former to be moved inward from the position shown in Fig. and deposit the heel-blank onone of the clamp-carriers 41 which. in the operation of the machine has been brought to rest immediately infront of the heel-former. Cam 51 (Fig. now operates to raise the outer end of lever arm 60, which by means of links 63=raises plunger 64 into engagement with the lower end of rod'16 and raises it, and with it the rack-bar 09, causing rack-bar 13 to be moved downward. Projecting outward from the upper end of this rack-bar is an arm I05 which extends over the cross-bar 83 and normally at some distance above the same, as shown by Fig. 5, and in the downward movement of rack-bar 13 engages said cross-bar and draws the bars 8I andcross-bar 82 downward to carry the clamp plate 90 into engagement with the upper side of the heel-blank and then to place spring 9| under tension to cause it to exert the proper pressure on the clamp plate. Ratchet I0 I which rode over the teeth of pinion Silas the latter was rotated by engagement with the teeth of rack-bar 91 in the downward movement of the clamping frame, now engages behind a tooth of the pinion and prevents the latter from being rotated in the opposite direction and thus securely locks the clamp in its clamped position.

The screw-threaded rod 16 is vertically ad justable in the boss 15 by means of a thumbscrew 230 (Figs. 2 and 3) on its upperend, to regulate the throw of the clamp plate 90 in accordance with the height of the heel-blank being built. A gauge 23I provided with numbered graduations, in conjunction with an indicator 232 on the rod, enables the operator to properly adjust rod 15 relative to the plunger 64. Fig. 12 shows the open, or raised, position of clamp plate 00 in dotted lines, in which the operating parts would be in the position shown in 'Fig. 5, and its clamped position on a heel-blank in full lines.

The latter position of the clamp plate is also shown in Fig. 23. Immediately after the descent of the clamp plate on the heel-blank, the low part of cam 48 will pass over roller 58 and cause the heel-former to be returned to the position shown in Fig. 5. As each heel-blank is clamped, it is moved forward in the operation of the machine a distance sufficient to bring an empty clamp carrier opposite thev base plate 4I, while at substantially the same time a clamped heelblank, which has traveled around the entire machine in order to give the paste between the lifts time to set, and arrived at a discharge point, or chute, I05 (Fig. 1), will be released and ejected from its clamp carrier immediately beyond the empty carrier moved into position, the clamp carrier from which the heel has been discharged becoming the empty carrier next to receive a heel-blank. All the operations of the machine occur in stages, and whilethe clutch members II and I2 are momentarily held in engagement by depression of treadle I3. However, the timeinterval between the various operations is very slight, depending upon the setting of the cams on the cam shaft, and in some instances, as in theclamping of a fresh heel-blank. and the discharge of a dried, or completed, heel, the two actions occur almost simultaneously. The mecha nism for effecting the travel in stages of the end lessseries ofc'lamp carriers will now be briefly described, as this mechanism, of itself, forms no part of the present invention, being fully described and claimed in our parent application re-' ferred to. g I v Referring to Fig. 1, the machine'is provided at opposite ends with two upright stub shafts; I01, I08, respectively, and: rotatably mounted there on are two large sprocket wheels I09 and I09 respectively, which are provided in their peripheries with equidistant recesses H0 whichiengage lugs on the corners of the clamp carriers, 41, these pivotally-connected carriers thus forming an endless-chain carrier, or conveyor. Fixedly secured to the hub of each sprocket wheel is a ratchet wheel III, froineach of which projects a crank-arm II2, the outer ends of these crank-' arms being connected to opposite ends of a cone necting rod II3, which is provided with a cam surface I I4. Mounted on eachof the crank-arms I12 is a spring-pressed ratchet II5. Projecting inward from connecting rod H3 is an arm II8 to which are secured the ends of two coil springs I13, the opposite ends. of which are secured to a fixed arm I20 on a frame member I2I. .Pivotally mounted on member I2I is a stop-arm I22 provided on its outer end with a roller I23 which is normally pressed toward the periphery of wheel 39 by a spring I24. Normally, roller I23 rests'in one or the other of the recesses I I0 of whee1fI09, in which position it stops the rotation. of the wheel, and hence the movement of the endless series of clamp carriers. On the under side of stop-arm I22 is a roller I26 which isadapted to be engaged by the cam surface II4 to raise stop,- arm I22 and release roller I23 from engagement with a recess IIO to permit wheel I09 to be ro tated. The rotation of wheel I09 is eifected as follows: l

Secured on the cam shaft 34 is a cam I (Figs. 1 and 16) and below'this cam is a lever? arm I5I which is pivotally mounted at its inner end ona front frame member of themachine. Mounted on the upper side of this lever-arm is a wear plate I52 which, when the cam shaft 34 is rotatedjwill be engaged by the high portion of cam I 50 and cause the outer end of arm I5.I' to be depressed. Pivotally connected at its lower end at M3 to the outer end of lever arm I5I is a pull rod I54, which at its upper endis pivotally connected at I (Figs. 15 and 1'I)'with one arm of a bell-crank lever I51, pivoted at its elbow at I58 on the lower end of a frame support I59. Theother arm I00 is pivotally connected at its upper end'to one end of a'link IGI the other end of which is pivotally connected to a boss I52 secured on the connecting rod I I3. As the cam shaft 34 rotates, the high point of cam I50 will engage wear plate I52 and force the outer end of the lever arm I5I downward, causing pull rod I54 to turn bell-crank lever I51, and move connecting rod II3 to the left (Fig. 1) In this movement of the connecting rod ratchets I I5-will be moved by crank-arms II2 over the teeth of ratchet-wheels I I I and finally engage behind one of said teeth. This movement of the connecting rod places coilsprings II9 undertension by extending them, and at the same time causes cam surface I I4 thereon to ride under roller I20 and raise stop-arm122, disengaging its roller froma recess '0 in sprocket wheel I09. .When'the low point of cam I50 reaches wear plate I52, the power stored in springs H9 by the,previous movement.

' and thus stop the rotation of the sprocket wheels and movement of the endless carrier. The cam shaft 34 is,of coure, rotated through a single cycle with each depression of treadle I3, and this 7 rotation is initiated and stopped through themedium of automatic clutch and stop mechanism, indicated generally'by the numeral I39 in Figs, 1 and 14, which is governed by a clutch-control bar I32, actuated from rock-shaft 20. This clutch mechanism is fully described in our parent application referred to, and as it forms no part of the present invention, it is not deemed necessary to more particularly illustrate and describe the same, as automatic clutches for. producing single revolutions of a driven shaft are Well known, and any such conventional clutch, placed in operation on depressing treadle I 3, could be employed.

s In the operation of the machine in building heeLblanks, the movement and stoppage .of the endless carrier above described will have brought a clamped and dried heel-blank to rest opposite the opening to the chute I05 (Figs. 1 and 2) clamp carrier to beclamped by the plateau, in the manner previously described.

We will now describe the means we "employ for securing great accuracy in the conformation, or shape, of'a heel blank made --of pieced lifts while at the same time'preventing displacement of the lifts, or of any of them, while positioning a heel-blank for clamping, and duringthe act of clamping the same, referring particularly to Figs.8 to 12, and Fig. 18; a

Rotatably mountedon and extending through a frame support 2l5 is a'post 2I6"(Figs. 11, 12

and 18) having on its upper endan integral block 2 I Lthe top side of which is grooved to provide a recess, or seat, '2! having-parallel side walls 2L9, the bottom of the recess being pro vided in its central portion with a screw-threaded hole.220. Firmly secured on the lower end of post 2l6 below the support 215 by-a set screw 22lis'a ring 222 which is provided with a laterally projecting-pin 223. Secured at oneend in the outer end of this pin is a coil springZZL-the other end of which is'secured to a fixed pin 225 on the frame. This'spring normally holdsthe right-hand side '(Figs. 8 and. 9) of block 2H against a stop 226, which may be of the adjustable, or dash-pot type. The back-stopproper (Fig; 18) comprises a flat shank 221 having a longitudinal slot 228 and provided atone end'with where it is to be unclamped and discharged. The

unclamping and ejecting mechanisms are not illustrated or described in the present case, ,as they are not involved in the invention claimed herein, are fully illustrated, described and claimed in the parent application, and their operations are not necessary to the performance of the presentinvention. We will now describe our novel backestop mechanism for positioning and holding in position the pieced lifts and, if used, the pieced rand of' a heel-blank when the heel-blank is moved into position to be clamped, and during the clamping operation.

1 Referring to Fig. 1, there is mounted on a support, or table, 205-at the front of the machine a paste applying device 206 of any preferred construction", but as here shown having a lower roller 201 and an upper roller 208 between which the lifts arepasse'd to receive paste in a well known two integral arms 229 diverging at right-angles,

to each other, and forming a crotch for'receiving the rounded side,or back, of the heel-blank, as shown in Fig 9. 'With" the post '2l6' secured in ring 222, the shank 221 in then seated in ther'ecess 2l8 and a binding screw 240 is passed through slot 228 andscrewed into the.

manner; I The lower roller rotates in a paste pot 20.9 ,fand,supp lies pas'te'to the upper roller, the paste being maintained in fiuid'condition by an electric heater (not shown) supplied with current by a conductor 2H1. The roller 201' is 'rotated by a belt drive 2H from shaft 5, or in any other, desired manner. As each lift is passed between the rollers of the paste applying device tobe supplied with'paste it is positioned in the heel-former by the operator with its "breast against the heel-forming plates 42 and its sides against the. respective projections 45. In the present case, this applies only to the base lift 2J2 shown in Fig. 19 When this lift has been pastedand positioned as described, two layers of pieced lifts 2l3, Fig. 20 are then superimposed upon the baselift in a manner to break joints with each other, as well known in the art and as indicatedby dotted'lines in Figs. 8 and 9. A twopi'ece randj2l'4, after pasting, may then be applied to the. assembled lifts, and the heelblank thus formed is'readyto be moved onto a hole 220. "As'will be apparentfrom an inspection of Figs. 8 and '9, by loosening the binding screw 240" the backstop can be adjusted toward or from the heel-former so as to position it to properly meet the"heel-blank as "it is moved inward to clamping position, thus enabling the back-stop to be-engaged by and. properly position any size of heel-blank thatmay be built on the machine. From an inspection of these figures, it willalsobe seen that the center of the crotch of the back stop coincides with themedian line of the heelblank built up in the heel-former, so' that when the latter is moved inward to carrythe heelblank into engagement with the back-stop, onto the position shown in Figs. 9 and ,1'2,'th'e rounded sides of the pieced lifts will engage inthe'crotch formed by thev arms 229 causing thepieces ,to be forced together, while at the breast of the heelblank the: lift pieces willbe held in positionby the' projections .45 of the heel-forming plates and be correctlyfaligned' by being forced. against the breast plates 42?. With'the heel-blank thus positioned and the. pieces'of the lifts heldfrom displacement, the clamping plate is then lowered to clamp the heel-blank, as illustratedin Fig. 12, in the manner previously described. Immediately after the clampingloperation; the endless series of clamp carriers ,is automatically moved to theleftQas indicated by the arrowsin Figs. 1 and 10, respectively, to bring an empty clamp carrier opposite the heel-former, and in this movement, the back-stop will swivel on the post 2H5 and be turned in the same direction to permitthe clamped hel-blank to passbeyondit,

single, or unitary back stop, a djustab1ymounted made adaptable to in a block, or holder, wouldgenerally be employed only when the heels being built were straight-sided and. of uniform height, consisting, as a rule, of abase lift, two layers of piecedlifts, and a superimposed rand, such heels being'used only on'mens shoes. In place of using a rand, the lift at the top of the heel-blank may be gougedout, as well known in the art. However, heels ,of a greater height: than indicated above are often made for mens shoes; likewise, decked heels for mens shoes are'som'etimes made of pieced lifts; and to make the machine applicable for building either type of heel-blank, the modified construction of back-stop illustrated in Figs, 2 2 to 25 maybe advantageously employed, and willnow be described.

The numeral 2M, Fig. 24, indicates ahollow, rectangular holder having a post 242 on its bottom which is adapted to be secured in the ring 222 in the same manner as the post 216, and beingrotatably mounted in the support 2|5. At its top, the holder is provided with a binding screw 233. The back-stop proper, in this case, is made up of a series of superimposed, flatback stop plates, one of which is shown in'Fig. 25. Each of these back-stop plates comprises a rectangular shank' 234 having at one end arms 235 diverging from each other at right-angles, as in the case ofthe unitary back-stop previously described. In using this back-stop, the shanks of anumber of plates to build a back-stop of the desired height are inserted in the holder 24!, and if a decked heel is to be built, the plates are arranged in stepped formation, as illustrated in Figs. 22 and 23, to correspond to the conformation of the back, or rounded side, of the heelblank. The plates are then clamped in position by the binding screw 233. The heel-forming plates 42 would also be similarly arranged, to correspond to the shape of the heel-blank at the sides of the breast portion, as fully described in application No. 430,000; After the built-up heelblank has been moved into engagement with the back-stop, and the clamping plate 99 lowered to clamp it, as illustrated in Fig.23, when the endless series of clamp'carriersji's placed in motion the composite back-stop described will swivel on the support 2 l 5 to permit the clampedheel-blank to pass beyond it, in the same manner as previously described. "An important advantage of this modified construction of back-stop is that it may readily be anyjheight or shape of heel blank; Thus, if a heel-blank of less height than that illustrated in Fig. 23 is to be built, the bindingj'screw 233 would be loosened, the appropriatenumber of back-stop plates moved back; or to the right in" Fig. 23, to reduce the engaging surface o'f'the back-stop, or its crotch portion, to the desired height, when the screw would again be tightened. Again, if a straight-sided heel-blank is to be built, the back-stop plates would be adjusted so thatthe inner sides of the superimposed series of arms 235 would lie flush with each other to provide flat, vertical engaging surfaces for the rounded side of the heelblank. For convenience of the operator, We' mount above the machine a bin 236 open at itsfront side andv provided with a number of compartments required in building a particular type of heel. This'bin is mounted on columns 238 supported ontheframe ofthe machine. V f

We. wish it to be understood that the inven- 231 for holding lifts of the various sizes tion is not limited to the exact details of construction herein described and illustrated in the drawings, except asmay be required by certain of the appended claims, andthat various changes may be made in the construction, arrangement and operation of the machine, or of its elements, without departing from the spirit of the invention. i

We claim: I I

1. Ina heel-buildihg-mahine, in combination with a reciprocable. heel-former, a 1 swivelled back-stop in line therewith having a shaping recess, means for reciprocating said heel-former to bring the rounded. side'of a heel-blank built against the same into engagement with thewalls of said recess, means for clampingthe heelblank while so positioned, and means for moving the clamped heel-blank beyond the line of movement of the heel-former, thereby turning the back-stop to one side to permit the heelblank to clear the same.

2. In a heel-building machine, in combination with a reciprocable heel-former, a swivelled, spring-controlled back-stop in line therewith having a shaping recess, means for reciprocating said heel-former to bring therounded side of a heel-blank built against the same into engagement with the walls of said recess, means for clamping the heel-blank while so positioned, and means formoving the clamped heel-blank beyond the line of movement of the heel-former, thereby turning the back-stop to one side to permit the heel-blank to clear the same.

3. In a heel-building machine, in combination with a reciprocable heel-former, a spring-controlled, swivelledholder l mounted on the machine, a back-stop adjustably mounted in said holder in the line of movement of said heelformer and having a V-shaped recess, and means for reciprocating said heel-former to bring the rounded side of a heel-blanlibuilt against the same into engagementwith the walls of said recess. a r T 4 In a heel-buildingmachine, in combination with a reciprocable heel-former having a recess for receiving and positioning'the breast portion of an assembly of lifts, a spring-controlled, swiv elled holder mounted on themachina a'backstopadjustably mounted in" said holderin the line of movement [of said. heel-formerand hav= ing a V-shaped recess, means for reciprocating said heel-former to bring the rounded sidesof said lifts into" engagement with the'walls of said V'-shaped recess, means forclamping' the assem bly oflifts 'while sopositioned, and means for moving the clamped assembly of lifts beyond the lineof movement of the heel-former, thereby turning the backstop-to one side 'to permitthe clamped lifts to clear the same.

5'. In a heel-building machine, in combina-' tion with a -reciprocableheel -former, a backstop in'line therewith havinga recess adj ustable as] to height 'and 'conf1guration, and means for reciprocating said heelformer to bringjthe rounded side of a heel blank built againstjthe same into engagement with the walls of said recess. 1 l 6."In a heel-building mach ne, in combination with a recipro cable heel-former pfa backstop in line therewith comprising a series of plates having corresponding diverging arms-"at one end superimposed upon each other to the height of the 'heel-blankto be'built and providing a shaping recess, means for adjusting-said plates longitudinally. of, ea h" othe t p odu e a desired configuration of the walls of said recess, and means for reciprocating said heel-former to bring the rounded side of a heel-blank built against the same into engagement with'the walls of said recess. I

'7. In a heel-building machine, in combination with a reciprocable heel-former having a recess, variable as to height and configuration, for receiving and positioning the breast portion of an assembly of lifts forming a heel-blank, a

back-stop in line with said heel-former having a shaping recess also variable as to height-and configuration, and means for reciprocating said heel-former to bring the rounded side of a heelblank built against the same into engagement with the walls of said recess.

8. In a machine for building heelblanks of pieced lifts, in combination with means for clamping the heel-blanks comprising a pluralityby the operator for operating said heel-former and the clamping mechanism of the stationary carrier in the order named, and for advancing thereafter all of said carriers a single stage,

thereby turning the backstop to one side to permit the clamped heel-blank to clear the same.

9. In a mechanism of the kind described, a

movable support for a plurality of superposed,

heel lifts, a stop against which the heel lifts may be abutted, said stop having walls with a positioning opening, said walls providing analigning means against which the lifts may be forced and by which they may be aligned, said walls being unyieldable in the direction of the force duringthe aligning operation, means for moving the movable support in a direction lateral to the aligning force, the walls-extending to provide an obstruction to such lateral move-' ment of the lifts engaged by them, and means supporting the walls for lateral movement in a direction to permit said lateral displacement of the support and the lifts thereon.

10. In a mechanism of the kind described, a

movable support for a plurality of superposed heel lifts, a stop having walls extending on opposite sides of a medialaxis of the lifts, against which the lifts may be forced by force applied along said axis, to align the superposed lifts relative to each other, means moving the movable support in a direction lateralrelative to the direction of force, means supporting the stop against displacement in said direction of force, said stop supporting means including yieldable means normally to maintain the walls of thetstop in lift receiving position, but adapted to yield to provide lateral'movement of the walls in a direction to permit lateral passage of the lifts with the movable support.

11. In a mechanism of the kind described, a movable support for a plurality of superposed heel lifts, a stop having walls providing an opening of predetermined fixed shape, said walls being adapted to receive superposed heel lifts and be engaged by said lifts on opposite sides of an axis thereof, and to align said lifts upon application of force thereto along said axis, means to .move the movable support in a; direction lateral to said axis, means to support the stop against displacement in the direction of said force during the aligning operation, said means providing lateral displacement of the stop to permit passage of the lifts upon movement of the movable support, spring means opposing said lateral movement and being adapted to returnthe stop toward its aligning position, and. arresting means to arrest'the return movement of the stop when itattains aligning position.

JOHN A. MCMAHON. ERNEST D. SYDOW., 

